And the guy who was involved in the questionable fund-raising has just been indicted with four felony counts of deliberately concealing his inflated salary at the Chelsea Housing Authority.

It's possible, if unlikely, that Murray knew about the timing of the McLaughlin indictments, which were inevitable. But the Office of Campaign and Political Finance office probe was no surprise -- he requested it -- and it's been clear for months that Murray would have a political problem.

In a previously undisclosed letter, sent in September, [OCPF] asked the
attorney general to investigate Murray, as well as key members of his
campaign team. If eventually charged and found guilty of knowingly
accepting illegally raised campaign contributions, the lieutenant
governor could face up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500
for each violation.

And it appears that where there was smoke there may have been fire involving Murray and the campaign finance law, setting the stage for what would have likely been an embarrassing mess smack in the middle of the campaign.

It's important to remember the caveats that investigations are not proof of wrong-doing and everyone has a presumption of innocence.

But Murray at the very least is guilty of not being entirely straight forward in announcing his reasons for opting out of the 2014 campaign.